220029, XC 07.27 Plymouth-Newcastle (1S41, RT) & 222006, EM 12.29 Sheffield-London St. Pancras (1C45, RT), Sheffield station
Two units that are virtually identical in their construction but
operating under different names, different classes and for different operators stand at Sheffield station. To the left at platform one is one of CrossCountry's Voyagers 220029 working the 07.27 Plymouth to Newcastle whilst EMR's Meridian 222029 waits to work the 12.29 to London St. Pancras. In theory, these two variants of the Bombardier built units ought to be able to operate together but they have incompatible electrical connections witnessed by the large jumper cable connector on the front of the 220 and its absence from the 222 being replaced by a chin cross piece. We took the CrossCountry service the relatively short distance to Wakefield in order to complete our journey.